‘Cult’ members who ‘wanted to construct own legal system’ jailed for coroner kidnap plot
Four ‘cult’ members have been jailed for plotting to kidnap and falsely imprison a coroner.
Mark Christopher, 59, and Matthew Martin, 47, both from east London, along with married couple Shiza Harper, 45, and Sean Harper, 38, both from South Benfleet, Essex, were convicted in July.
During their trial, Chelmsford Crown Court heard that Lincoln Brookes, senior coroner for Essex, received a series of “very bizarre” letters between March and September 2022, followed by emails stating that “corporal punishment may be administered”.
Mr Brookes described the messages, which claimed to be warrants “for seizure of goods and persons”, as “troubling” and “upsetting”. In one, he said he was accused of “detrimental necromancy”.
He referred the letters to Essex County Council’s fraud detection department.
Sean Harper and his wife Shiza Harper arriving at Chelmsford Crown Court for their trial. File pic: PA
The judge Mr Justice Goss said Mr Brookes was told it was “not a known scam and it was decided to keep an eye on it”.
In March 2023, Christopher sent “further malicious communications” to Mr Brookes.
The judge said that Christopher also hosted an online rally on 17 April 2023 where he “foreshadowed the closing of the coroner’s court and the Southend County Court and the administration of corporal punishment if need be”.
Mr Justice Goss continued: “You told those attending to remember that they were doing this because their country is going to be overtaken by Nazis.”
He added that Christopher warned that the “Nazis” would “kick your door down and mutilate your children for surgery” and those attending therefore had to “whack them to death”.
“The clip ended with you saying you were going to shut down the coroner’s court, administering corporal punishment if need be,” the judge said.
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Moment ‘cult’ tries to kidnap coroner
He told the four defendants that they “all attended that rally”.
Three days later the defendants travelled to the coroner’s court in Chelmsford with handcuffs in search of Mr Brookes, but he was not there at the time, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.
The defendants had entered a room where another coroner, Michelle Brown, was conducting documentary inquests, before demanding to know where Mr Brookes was and said they were shutting down the court.
She said that the leader, Christopher, “kept demanding that I find and get Mr Brookes”.
Judge calls Christopher ‘manipulative’
During summing up in the case, Mr Justice Goss told jurors that the defendants were “members of a group called the Federal Postal Court, or Court of the People”.
He added on the day of the attempted kidnap, the four defendants had driven to the court in two vehicles “displaying the emblem of your organisation”.
In sentencing remarks, the judge described Christopher as “manipulative and dishonest”. He said Christopher was the “self-appointed leader” with the title “chief judge of England and all dominions”.
Matthew Martin was given the title ‘sheriff and a coroner’ by the leader of his group. File pic: PA
He added Martin was a “sheriff and a coroner”, Sean Harper a “sheriff” and his wife Shiza Harper a “postal inspector and auditor”.
All three had been “qualified” by Christopher, the court heard.
Coroner ‘regularly has nightmares about incident’
In a victim impact statement read out in court, Mr Brookes said on Monday: “I regularly have nightmares about the incident and the suspects attending my home.”
Mr Brookes said he has had “initial trauma therapy” and is now “hyper vigilant about the safety of my family and myself”.
He said he had been driving to the court, having accompanied a family member to a hospital appointment that morning, when he received a call about what had happened and he turned around.
Mr Brookes said he was warned not to come to the building and was told “these are the people from the letter – they’re coming to get you”.
He said he suffers “flashbacks of the journey home” and at the time “was wondering if the cars around me were following me or trying to beat me to my house”.
Detective Chief Inspector Nathan Hutchinson from Essex Police said: “The ideologies of this group were concerning and they genuinely believed that they had the power to construct their own legal system, threaten others and were above English law.”
He praised staff at the coroner’s court for acting “calmly and rationally during an intimidating and traumatising ordeal”.
In July this year, Martin told Chelmsford Crown Court he was a “man of honour”.
He said: “What I do for a living, what I do every day when I wake up, I deal with state child trafficking.”
He added that it was “nothing to do with terrorism or cult, it’s strictly facts”.
Christopher, of Forest Gate, east London, Martin, of Plaistow, east London, Shiza Harper and Sean Harper, both of South Benfleet, Essex, all denied conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment, but were all found guilty on both counts following a two-week trial.
Christopher, who was also found guilty of sending threatening letters to Mr Brookes, with intent to cause distress or anxiety, was sentenced to seven years for the conspiracy to kidnap and 18 months for malicious intent, to run concurrently.
The judge said Christopher “lay at the very heart of these offences”.
He said the other three defendants “were prepared to commit offences while doing his bidding”, and jailed them for 30 months each.
All four were also ordered each to pay a £228 surcharge and subjected each to a restraining order, barring them from entering any courthouse in England and Wales without a prior appointment and blocking them from contacting Mr Brookes or Ms Brown.
UK
British tourist who fell ill from methanol poisoning dies after ‘free shots’ giveaway in Laos resort
A British tourist being treated after a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos has died, according to UK officials.
Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, fell ill after reportedly drinking “free shots” from a local bar in Vang Vieng – a resort popular with backpackers.
Four people had already died following the suspected poisonings – an Australian named Bianca Jones, 19, from Melbourne, as well as two Danish women in their 20s and a 56-year-old US citizen.
They are believed to have consumed drinks tainted with methanol, which is sometimes added to mixed drinks as a cheaper alternative to alcohol, but can cause severe poisoning or death.
“We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, and we are in contact with the local authorities,” the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said in a statement.
The FCDO said it was also providing consular assistance to other British nationals hospitalised in the incident, as well as their families.
Bianca Jones, a 19-year-old from Australia, also died
Explained:
What is methanol, how does it end up in alcoholic drinks, and how can you avoid it?
Ms White was an associate lawyer specialising in intellectual property and technology and worked at the London office of the American law firm Squire Patton Boggs.
Her work involved general commercial matters, and contentious and non-contentious intellectual property law issues, according to the firm’s website.
Bethany Clarke, a friend of Ms White and a healthcare worker, also from Orpington, said a group of six people had been taken to hospital after drinking from the same bar.
She posted on a Laos Backpacking Facebook group to warn other travellers after the group fell ill.
“Urgent – please avoid all local spirits. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars,” she wrote.
“Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”
‘Every parent’s very worst fear’
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed to his country’s parliament that 19-year-old Bianca Jones had died after being evacuated to a Thai hospital from Vang Vieng.
Thai authorities confirmed that Jones had died of “brain swelling due to high levels of methanol found in her system”.
Her friend Holly Bowles, also 19, remains in hospital in neighbouring Thailand, Mr Albanese said.
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Laos methanol poisonings – what we know
Australian officials said “several foreign nationals” had also been victims of methanol poisoning
“This is every parent’s very worst fear and a nightmare that no one should have to endure,” Mr Albanese said.
“We also take this moment to say that we’re thinking of Bianca’s friend Holly Bowles who is fighting for her life.”
‘Her incredible spirit touched so many lives’
In a statement to the Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper, Ms Jones’ family paid tribute to her.
“She was surrounded by love, and we are comforted by the knowledge that her incredible spirit touched so many lives during her time with us,” the family wrote.
“We want to express our deepest gratitude for the overwhelming support, love, and prayers we’ve received from across Australia.”
The US State Department confirmed that an American had also died in Vang Vieng, and Denmark’s Foreign Ministry said two of its citizens had also died in “the incident in Laos”.
Neither would comment directly on a link to methanol poisoning.
The second named storm of the season will bring snow, rain and strong winds to parts of the UK this weekend, according to the Met Office.
Hundreds of schools are closed as the storm, named Bert, sweeps in, bringing freezing temperatures and snow over the weekend.
Wind gusts of up to 70mph are expected in some areas as well as the potential of flooding and travel disruption.
Heavy snowfall could bring further disruption to parts of the country while heavy rain is also likely over the weekend, the Met Office added.
Snowy conditions, in the village of Goathland, North York Moors National Park.
Pic: PA
Parts of southwest England including Plymouth and Exeter are under a yellow warning for snow until 3pm today, with 5-10cm predicted in higher parts of Dartmoor.
Wintry showers will continue in different parts of the UK throughout Thursday and Friday, amid warnings of snow and ice for much of Scotland, northern England and parts of western and eastern England and Wales between midday today and 10am tomorrow.
How Storm Bert is set to impact the UK this weekend. Pic: Met Office
Met Office chief meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said: “A northerly airflow will continue to feed snow showers into Scotland over the next few days, with this reaching lower levels at times and bringing the potential for some travel disruption.
“Overnight temperatures will drop below zero fairly widely over the next few days, which has resulted in some ice warnings, with further warnings likely through this week.”
More than 114 schools are shut in the Highland Council area today due to snow, including Inverness Royal Academy where pupils were told their prelim exams planned for the day would be rescheduled.
Almost 40 schools in Aberdeenshire are also shut while many others had delayed openings, and in Moray around 12 were closed and others opened late.
It comes after more than 100 schools or nurseries were closed in Scotland yesterday because of the weather.
Commuters dressed in warm clothes walk over Westminster Bridge.
Pic: Reuters
South of the border, 89 schools were shut in Devon today, 18 in Dorset and 60 in Cornwall, while in Wales around 10 were closed in Conwy, 18 in Denbighshire and two in Wrexham.
As Storm Bert hits the UK, areas where warnings are in place in the south and west are likely to be impacted by heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday.
Between 50-75 mm of rainfall is expected there on the weekend, while Wales and southwest England could see more than 100mm.
There is already a yellow warning for heavy snow on Saturday followed by a “rapid thaw” and rain on Saturday night in northeast and northwest England, the West Midlands, Yorkshire, and much of Scotland.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Dan Holley, said: “Storm Bert marks a shift to much milder air and wintry hazards will gradually diminish through the weekend, but heavy snowfall is expected across parts of northern England and Scotland for a time on Saturday, especially over higher ground, and warnings are in place.”
A man has been found guilty of murdering his “best friend” on Christmas Eve.
A jury of 10 men and two women heard Dylan Thomas, 24, killed William Bush, 23, in a “frenzied attack” in the Llandaff area of Cardiff last year.
Thomas had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility but denied Mr Bush’s murder.
A trial at Cardiff Crown Court heard Thomas attacked Mr Bush “from behind” in his bedroom after he entered through the kitchen at the property they shared, owned by the defendant’s grandparents.
During the “sustained attack” Mr Bush “fled for his life” down two flights of stairs and onto the patio, the trial heard.
William Bush. Pic: South Wales Police
Mr Bush sustained 37 stab wounds in total, including 21 to the neck.
His cause of death was given as “multiple stab wounds to the neck and trunk”.
The defendant, who was wearing a blue t-shirt, attended the hearing via video link from a secure hospital.
The jury returned a unanimous verdict on Thursday afternoon after just over three hours of deliberation.
Thomas, who was suffering from schizophrenia, had initially claimed he was acting in self-defence.
‘Clear thinking’
The court heard how Mr Bush was Thomas’s “only known real friend”.
During the trial, it was also heard how Thomas had been arrested “for trying to climb into Buckingham Palace” some weeks previously.
He also wrote to Elon Musk telling him he believed he had the ability to harness gravity.
The defendant was staying with his grandmother in Rhoose, the Vale of Glamorgan, on the night before the attack.
In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the jury heard Thomas had carried out an online search for the “anatomy of the neck”.
Thomas, who could not drive, enquired about getting an Uber to Tŷ Matthew in Llandaff at 3.31am.
Later that morning, his grandmother agreed to take him to the house after he told her he “wanted to walk the dog” and they left her home in Rhoose at 10.41am.
He had sent several messages to Mr Bush in the hours before the attack in which he said he needed to see him before Mr Bush went home to Brecon to spend Christmas with his family.
The prosecution argued there was “clear thinking on the part of Dylan Thomas”.
“This was a frenzied attack where Mr Thomas could only have had one intention and that was to kill Mr Bush,” said Gregory Bull KC, prosecuting.
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But the defence argued Mr Bush’s schizophrenia lay “at the centre” of the case.
“He didn’t understand, because he was deluded. He believed, for whatever reason, that his best friend was threatening his life,” said defence barrister Orlando Pownall KC.
Thomas will be sentenced on Monday 16 December.
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